2 July, 2008
Hedge-Fund Fraudster in Custody
Posted by Socrates in jew financial crimes, Socrates at 9:58 pm | 
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Posted by Socrates in jew financial crimes, Socrates at 9:58 pm |
Permanent Link
2 July, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Always a fucking jew. The world would be better with no jews and a set interest rate for everything.
3 July, 2008 at 10:42 am
Well, if Whitey can remember to Never Leave An Enemy Behind when his time to fight or die comes, that just might be a reality, Cowboyzeke. I can imagine that many “radical” Muslims will be more than glad to help out.
3 July, 2008 at 10:50 am
WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE GET A ROPE!!!!!
ED!
4 July, 2008 at 9:01 am
mcr major criminal race
7 July, 2008 at 6:02 am
2 Sentenced To Prison For Hedge Fund Fraud Scheme
POSTED: 5:33 pm PST February 25, 2008
UPDATED: 6:12 pm PST February 25, 2008
LOS ANGELES — The founder of an investment company and a former securities broker were each sentenced to federal prison terms Monday for a hedge fund fraud scheme that bilked investors out of at least $2.5 million.
Keith Gilabert, 36, of Valencia, received a five-year sentence from U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson for orchestrating the scheme, which counted a blind 95-year-old [multi-millionaire] rabbi as one of its victims.
Wilson sentenced Gilabert’s co-conspirator, Justin Paperny, to [only] 18 months in jail. The 32-year-old Studio City resident is a former account vice president [salesman] at UBS Financial Services Inc.
Gilabert, who operated a company called Capital Management Group, pleaded guilty in June 2006 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud.
He got the maximum sentence under the law.
“He committed a dastardly fraud,” the judge said. “The sentence — he deserved every bit of it.”
Wilson added there was “a decent chance” he would have handed down a tougher sentence on Gilabert had the law allowed it.
Gilabert, who is currently jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, also was ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution to his victims.
Addressing the court, Gilabert apologized to his family and his victims.
“I made the choice to lie to my investors when things started to go wrong,” he said. “I was driven to lie because the market turned against me.”
In his plea agreement, Gilabert admitted operating a fraudulent hedge fund called GLT Venture Fund and lying to investors in an effort to persuade them to invest in it.
From September 2000 to January 2005, Gilabert collected millions of dollars from more than 40 clients, concealing that he lost most of the money and misappropriated much of the rest, according to court documents.
Rabbi Sam Bronstein, a Polish immigrant whose family was killed by the Nazis during World War II, angrily denounced both defendants.
“They robbed me of $4 million!” he shouted. “[Oy vey!] Give them the highest penalty!”
Gilabert and Paperny convinced Bronstein to invest $4 million in the bogus hedge fund, telling him it was backed by UBS. Gilabert later sent Bronstein phony statement accounts showing a positive financial performance, prosecutors said.
Leonard Steiner, an attorney representing Bronstein, said the rabbi had recouped much of his losses through a lawsuit against UBS and others, after Gilabert and Paperny siphoned off much of his net worth.
During his separate sentencing hearing, Paperny also apologized.
“I have no excuse,” he said. “It will take some time, but I will repay every penny that was lost due to my conduct.”
He also was ordered to pay more than $510,000 in restitution to his victims.
Paperny received less prison time than Gilabert because he assisted prosecutors with their case and joined the scheme at a later date.
Paperny, who helped Gilabert fraudulently conceal the GLT fund and lied to victims to persuade them to invest, pleaded guilty in February 2007 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud.
In his plea agreement, Paperny admitted receiving kickbacks from Gilabert. He also admitted that he informed management and supervisors at the brokerage firm that GLT was not following its stated investment strategy and that others in the firm were aware of Gilabert’s criminal conduct, according to his plea agreement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Beong-Soo Kim said no criminal charges were filed against the brokerage, but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating.
Last month, Paperny settled a civil complaint with the SEC related to the fraud.
In a related matter, Gilabert and his 65-year-old mother-in-law, Hiromi Seele, were acquitted last year of charges that they interfered with an FBI investigation into the sale of two plots of land in Valencia.
Wilson ordered the acquittals, citing insufficient evidence against Gilabert and Seele.
7 July, 2008 at 6:06 am
The holocaust survivor rabbi in the above story claims to have come to America with nothing and was swindled out of $4 million by another Jew. Now this:
Melvyn Weiss Sentenced To 30 Months In Kickback Scheme
POSTED: 2:14 pm PDT June 2, 2008
UPDATED: 2:36 pm PDT June 2, 2008
LOS ANGELES — Noted securities lawyer Melvyn Weiss was sentenced Monday to 30 months in federal prison for his role in paying illegal kickbacks to plaintiffs in scores of class-action lawsuits that targeted corporate America.
On April 2, Weiss — the 72-year-old co-founder of the once-powerful New York-based law firm Milberg Weiss — pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy.
Calling Weiss’ actions “by far one of the most serious crimes that comes before the court,” U.S. District Judge John Walter on Monday also ordered Weiss to pay a $250,000 fine and forfeit $9.75 million to the U.S. government.
Walter also called Weiss “one of the chief architects of this fraudulent scheme” and ordered the attorney to surrender to prison authorities on Aug. 28.
At his roughly one-hour-and-40-minute sentencing hearing, Weiss apologized to his family, colleagues, his former law firm and the courts for his “wrongful conduct.”
“My contrition is profound and genuine,” Weiss said.
Noting that his career and reputation lay in ruins and that he has resigned from the law firm he co-founded in 1965, Weiss said, “My punishment has already been great.”
Prosecutors had requested a 33-month sentence for Weiss, but Walter imposed a more lenient term, given Weiss’ age and long history of charitable work.
Benjamin Brafman, Weiss’ attorney, told reporters that he was pleased with Walter’s decision.
“I think the court did its job,” he said.
Brafman also called the hearing “one of the most difficult days in my professional life.”
In his plea agreement, Weiss admitted to his role in a scheme, which dated back to the 1970s.
The law firm concealed the kickbacks by disguising them as attorney referral fees. Milberg Weiss attorneys also repeatedly lied to the courts about the practice.
Prosecutors said the firm — now known as Milberg LLP — made approximately $251 million as a result of these tainted cases.
The scheme allowed Milberg Weiss to unfairly obtain a lion’s share of the legal fees accrued from class-action settlements or judgments, prosecutors said. The paid plaintiffs typically received about 10 percent of the attorneys’ fees generated in the case, prosecutors said.
But in a 125-page memorandum filed last week and attached with more than 250 letters of support from others Brafman urged Walter to show compassion.
Citing his client’s work on the Enron case, Brafman highlighted Weiss’ fight against corporate corruption and greed as well as his work on behalf of Holocaust victims.
Brafman, Walter and Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Axel all said they had never before seen such an outpouring of support for a defendant.
As a result of his guilty plea, Weiss will be banned from practicing law again.
“Conviction in this case has effective destroyed his personal legacy,” Walter said, adding that he was surprised Weiss decided to plead guilty given his reputation as a gutsy risk-taker.
“It’s uncharacteristic,” the judge said. “Mr. Weiss is a fighter.”
During its peak, Milberg Weiss was Public Enemy No. 1 to Wall Street and Silicon Valley, churning out a myriad of lawsuits against what the firm’s lawyers said was corporate malfeasance. But big business accused Milberg Weiss of committing extortion under the guise of the securities class-action lawsuit.
Melvyn Weiss is the fourth Milberg Weiss partner to plead guilty in the long-running criminal investigation. William Lerach, 62, who ran the law firm’s San Diego office from 1976 to 2004, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and is serving a two-year prison sentence for his role in the scheme.
Former Milberg Weiss attorneys Steven Schulman and David Bershad pleaded guilty last year and are set to be sentenced later this year.
Guilty pleas have also been entered by three paid plaintiffs: ex-Beverly Hills eye doctor Steven Cooperman, New Jersey businessman Howard Vogel and Palm Springs real estate mogul Seymour Lazar. Lazar was sentenced to six months’ home detention and fined $600,000. Cooperman and Vogel are set to be sentenced later this year.
The trial of Milberg LLP and Palm Springs real estate attorney Paul Selzer — who allegedly acted as an intermediary for Lazar — is scheduled to begin Aug. 12. But the firm is close to a settlement with the government, two people familiar with the discussions between the two sides told The Wall Street Journal.
While the anticipated deal could still fall apart, the sides have made progress after weeks of talks centering on the payment that the firm will have to make as part of a settlement, the newspaper reported.
Last summer, prosecutors were seeking about $50 million in fines and penalties, but the demand mushroomed this year to about $100 million, people familiar with the negotiations told the Journal.
Recently, Milberg and prosecutors have zeroed in on a payout in the neighborhood of $75 million, according to the newspaper’s sources.